Happy Black Friday! Ready to shop off that stuffing from yesterday? Retailers certainly hope you are.

U-T San Diego reporters Katherine Poythress, Bradley Fikes and David Garrick are out and about this Black Friday to bring you up-to-the-minute reports on how the parking is and where the deals are throughout the county.

Bookmark this page and come back throughout the day to check on where we are and what we're seeing.

No one was in line Friday morning at Target in Mission Valley because crowds had already been through the store on Thursday night.— Katherine Poythress

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No one was in line Friday morning at Target in Mission Valley because crowds had already been through the store on Thursday night.
/ Katherine Poythress

6:08 a.m.--All's quiet at Target Mission Valley

It's busier than your average 6 a.m. at Target in Mission Valley, but it's nothing like your typical Black Friday crowd. That's because doors opened at 8 p.m. Thursday, and the retailer has blown through most of its big doorbuster items, Executive Team Leader Alejandra Salas says. This store was a test site for an in-store Apple store, which they moved downstairs from the electronics area for easier access, and they sold out of iPad Airs. All the cameras on special are gone, and the popular Beats By Dre headphones are almost sold out.

Target associate Darrick Guy said Thursday was the biggest Black Friday crowd he's ever seen, and that shoppers were more price-conscious than ever, too. They went out of their way to ask about Target's Red card, and were springing for a lot of the staple items like $2 towels and $6 DVDs.

It's been "extremely busy" at Best Buy since the doors opened at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, says Mission Valley store manager Kevin Huey. Even at 4 in the morning, the electronics retailer was seeing hordes of people come in for large TV's, tablets of all brands and sizes, and the two hot new gaming systems, XBox 1 and PlayStation 4.

Pete McDermott of La Mesa said he and his father-in-law, Everett Ruiz, make a tradition of shopping together on Black Friday while the women go out separately. They found a 65" Samsung LED TV for $999 and are texting photos to their wives to persuade them that this is a great deal.

No evidence of Black Friday frenzy here, but the pace is beginning to pick up. Shortly after 7 a.m., lots were about half-full. Customers one at a time and couples are strolling through the center court. Along with the piped-in music, live singing greets customers from the Kaleidoscope Carolers. The quartet will return to the center from 4 to 6 p.m. The group will also sing at Hilton Carlsbad on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. - kaleidoscopercarolers.com

--Bradley Fikes

8:08 a.m.--Steady stream of shoppers

You can still find a parking spot at Best Buy in Mission Valley.— Katherine Poythress

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You can still find a parking spot at Best Buy in Mission Valley.
/ Katherine Poythress

Traffic has picked up at Best Buy as more shoppers roll out of bed this Black Friday morning, but you can still find a parking spot. A lot of them aren't looking for anything in particular, and we've run into several first-time Black Friday shoppers. The browsers are finding good deals on small-ticket items like DVDs and memory cards. DealNews.com says today is traditionally a great day to shop for data storage and digital paraphernalia to go with your electronics.

"It's women's clothes, men's clothes, anything that's flannel," Ochoa said. When the doors opened at 8 p.m. on Thursday, more than 300 customers were waiting, she said.

Kimberly Moreno, of Chula Vista, waited in at Sears Friday morning to buy more clothes for her husband. Moreno said she's buying "shorts, pants, underwear, T-shirts" for her husband, who works at NASSCO. "He gets dirty really easily, and it (the work) burns holes in his shirts."

In another line, Martha Betancourt struggled to hold a stack of boxes containing boots. "They're for work, and they're 60 percent off," Betancourt said, just before heading to the register with her purchases.

--Bradley Fikes

9:38 a.m.--Enthusiasm at Westfield UTC

The seven girls flew in from Israel on Thursday and came to the mall at 4 a.m. to take advantage of their first Black Friday.
— Katherine Poythress

The seven girls flew in from Israel on Thursday and came to the mall at 4 a.m. to take advantage of their first Black Friday.
/ Katherine Poythress

The parking lot at Westfield UTC isn't quite full, but it's busy and you might have to park a ways away. Despite the light sprinkling off and on, small groups of people are gathered in Palm Plaza. Starbucks is packed. A gaggle of teenage girls is raving about the deals they got at Forever 21.

The seven girls flew in from Israel on Thursday and came to the mall at 4 a.m. today to take advantage of their first Black Friday. They have loads of bags from The Limited, Victoria's Secret, American Eagle and Forever 21.

Many of the purchases are for themselves; others are for family back home.

"We just came and bought," said Sarah Schaefer, 18, who has already spent nearly $600.

"It's so much fun," said Chaya Rabinowitz, 18. "We were enthusiastic before, but now we're really enthusiastic."

Schaefer is particularly proud of her Victoria's Secret perfume gift sets, which she got two for $25. She's also pleased with the sequined tote she got for spending at least $65 at the store.

10:41 a.m.--Half off at Hollister

If you ask the teens, Hollister is where it's at today. Half off everything in the store. We talked with Ian Mannis, 14, from Mira Mesa, who bought a lot of clothes there, including a hoodie that he's already wearing. Haley Maheu, 16, was excited about the 50 percent off, too, and says that even though there's less traffic and fewer people in the malls, Black Friday deals this year seem better than last year.

Maheu and her friend, Jordan Marok, arrived at the shopping center around 9, and bought $20 sweaters from Charlotte Russe. Other good deals at the San Diego-based fast fashion retailer include $5 scarves and accessories. Marok said she went to Target around 9 p.m. on Thursday, but "everything was gone"--just an hour after the doors opened.

Mannis and his mother, Christine Hatfield, began shopping about 11 p.m. last night, they said. The Black Friday rookies were lured out by the sale at Hollister, but they started at Kohl's, which was "too crazy for us," Hatfield said, before moving on to Target, Gamestop. They returned to Kohl's later, after the initial rush had died down. They made it to Hollister and Westfield UTC this morning, after a nighttime nap between shopping trips.

--Katherine Poythress

11 a.m.-- Braving the rain at Westfield Carlsbad

As Martha Brady tried to put on a red rain poncho to leave Westfield Carlsbad mall after several hours of shopping, she said she was still ecstatic about a necklace she bought at Sears.

“It’s normally almost $300 and I bought it for $37,” said Brady, who was smiling from ear to ear. The San Marcos resident had several other bags filled with sweaters, shoes and gifts for family.

The mall’s parking lot was nearly full at 11 a.m. despite a heavy downpour that began a few hours earlier.

Brady said there was no chance the rain was going to stop her, praising Black Friday as a uniquely American opportunity to save money and get great deals.

“I’ve lived in Venezuela and Colombia and been to London, but I haven’t seen this kind of thing in any other country,” she said. “I found some good deals in London, but nothing like here.”

--David Garrick

11 a.m.-- Getting well groomed

Bath & BodyWorks at Chula Vista Center is offering deep discounts and specials on their fragrances, moisturizers and other personal care products.

Merchandise tables advertising half-off deals and other inducements are the first sights passersby encounter. For $22, shoppers get two of their three-wick candles.

"It's eye-catching and draws their attention, which gets people in here," said Ephraim Encizo, store manager.

"We're offering our VIP tote bag; it's a purchase-with-purchase," Encizo said. The term refers to a sales method of offering customers a reduced price for other products along with their initial purchase. "You spend $40 in the store, and you get it for only $20, which is over $105 value in the bag alone."

11:26 a.m.--Traffic is picking up

Now this is more like it. It's actually beginning to feel like a shopping holiday at Westfield UTC. The dining terrace is mostly full, some shoppers lounge with their bags, and others are just getting their errands started. It's still raining off and on outside, but the late-morning consumers seem willing to brave the weather with their slickers and umbrellas for the sake of shopping.

Denise Fecteau, 62, drove all the way from Chula Vista with her daughter and best friend. She has a shopping cart filled with bags from Nordstrom, the Art of Shaving and Express, among others.

"This cart represents three people," she's quick to explain.

It's an impressive load, given that they only began shopping at 9 a.m.

"Not that we don't like a good deal, but most of us have already predetermined what we want to buy when we come here," says Fecteau. That makes it a quick process to shop on Black Friday. And if what they already want is on sale, great. The trio picks Westfield UTC for their Black Friday shopping because its stores have wider selections than those at Otay Ranch Town Center, near where Fecteau lives, and the parking is less of a hassle than at Fashion Valley.

Unlike most shoppers today, Fecteau is here to buy Christmas gifts, but she did indulge a little in herself. She said she wasn't able to resist a soft nightgown she found at Nordstrom for $50.

"I've got almost all of my Christmas shopping done," she says. "I may have one thing that I'll have to visit a Sports Authority for, but other than that, I'm pretty much done."

--Katherine Poythress

11:30 a.m.-- Stocking up on sweaters in Carlsbad

Teenager Bella Lantz couldn’t sleep Thursday night thinking about all the deals she might get during Black Friday.

“I woke up at like 4 a.m. and wanted to go then, but my mom said we should wait till later,” said Lantz, adding that they compromised and arrived at Westfield Carlsbad about 9 a.m.

Lantz, an Arizona resident visiting her cousins in Rancho Santa Fe, said she was shocked at some of the deals she found on clothing.

“I got a lot of sweater-type things and long-sleeve shirts at amazing prices,” she said, carrying full bags from Charlotte Russe and Abercrombie & Fitch about 11:30 a.m. “There are two teal ones from Charlotte Russe that I really like.”

Lantz said she focused on herself while shopping Friday, but that her mother, Stephanie Lantz, was busy buying gifts for others.

--David Garrick

Self-discipline in Escondido

Addie Arredondo and her family left Escondido’s Westfield North County mall early Friday afternoon with only one item: a 32 inch Samsung TV they got for $229, which was about $120 less than the normal price.

Many other shoppers who participate in Black Friday end up buying more than just the one or two sharply discounted items they’ve seen ads for.

But the Arredondos avoided that scenario, even though the 15 minutes they spent looking for a parking spot would have made others feel a need to accomplish more on the visit to the mall.

“My dad wanted a TV for the family room,” Arredondo said about 2 p.m. “We just walked in, saw the sale, bought it and left.”

Employees at stores in the mall said crowds had been steady the whole day, but had seemed to increase when morning rains gave way to relatively clear afternoon skies.

-- David Garrick

Veteran shopper finding deals in Escondido

Escondido resident and self-described “veteran” shopper Jill Marie says she got some amazing deals during Black Friday at Westfield North County mall.

She was carrying several stuffed bags filled with boots, appliances and clothing.

“The coffee maker went out this morning --- which was perfect timing --- two of these are gifts, and of course I had to splurge on myself with a jacket,” Marie said.